NEH On the Road: ¡Carnaval!

"Rich or poor, young or old—all break loose, often in unusual ways. In Laza, Spain, celebrants might throw dirt and ants at neighbors. On the other side of the Atlantic, in Recife, Brazil, throngs gather to play frevo music or dance the passo, while in Tlaxcala, Mexico, men burlesque as French dandies. In New Orleans, the famed Mardi Gras krewes don outlandish costumes and parade the streets.

"This exhibition provides windows into eight communities in Europe and the Americas where carnival is a high point of the yearly cycle. ¡Carnaval! features individuals who have dedicated much of their lives to planning, creating, and carrying out the festivities. Images, video, costume pieces, and masks from their performances relate the history and cultural traditions, while conveying the importance and function of community building through play."

This online exhibition was compiled based on information provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. If you notice an error or omission, please let us know, and we will correct it. Please bear in mind that this exhibition reflects awards made to primary PIs whose institutional affiliation was with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign at the time of the award. Therefore, the exhibition does not necessarily reflect the awards Urbana campus faculty might have received at junctures in their careers when they were either at other institutions or part of grant projects for which the NEH lists a PI at another institution as the primary recipient. In this sense, what is available here is but a partial snapshot of the full impact of NEH awards on University of Illinois faculty and staff and the work those awards have facilitated.